''Nacholapithecus kerioi'' was an

ape Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a superfamily of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and Europe in prehistory, and counting humans are found global ...

that lived 15-14 million years ago during the Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. Fossils have been found in the Nachola formation in northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The only member of the genus ''Nacholapithecus'', it is thought to be a key genus in early hominid evolution. Similar in body plan to ''

Proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

'', it had a long vertebral column with six lumbar vertebrae, no tail, a narrow torso, large upper limbs with mobile shoulder joints, and long feet. Together with other Kenyapithecinae such as '' Equatorius'', '' Kenyapithecus'', and '' Griphopithecus'', ''Nacholapithecus'' displayed

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to ...

with '' Anoiapithecus''.

Taxonomy

''Nacholapithecus'' was initially classified as belonging in '' Kenyapithecus'', then attributed to ''Equatorius'' (with ''Equatorius'' perhaps grouped into a subfamily Equatorinae, instead of both species in Afropithecini), finally recognised by Ishida ''et al.'' (1999) as a separate genus. Classified perhaps as a member of the family Proconsulidae.

Fossil finds

''Nacholapithecus kerioi'' is known from the lowest part of the Aka Aiteputh Formation, one of five formations in the Neogene System in Nachola, Samburu District, northern Kenya. The formation is largely part of the north-western rift ''flank'' overlying the Nachola Formation.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q5237039 Human evolution Miocene Anthropology Prehistoric Kenya Monotypic prehistoric primate genera Fossil taxa described in 1999